Wood to take over softball program

South Dakota State director of athletics Justin Sell announced on Tuesday the addition of Krista Wood as the next Jackrabbit softball coach.

"We made a commitment to invest in our softball program so we could give our student-athletes a chance to win The Summit League and play in the NCAA tournament, and I have no doubt that we did that with this hire," Sell said. "Krista’s record as a head coach and background in the game is impeccable, she’s an outstanding person and we’re excited to have her join the Jackrabbit family."

Wood takes over the Jackrabbit softball program after eight successful seasons at Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb., where she posted an overall record of 270-154, with a 133-60 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

In her eight years at Wayne State, Wood turned the Wildcat program into a winner, inheriting a program that posted a 10-34 record in 2006 to a school record 43 wins in 2010, when Wayne State earned its first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II Super Regional.

The most prolific coach in school history, Wood coached 31 all-conference performers, eight All-Central Region selections, four All-Americans and one All-Central Region Pitcher of the Year at Wayne State. She also coached 40 NSIC All-Academic Team selections and six Academic All-Americans.

The former Krista Unger took over the Wayne State softball program after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State University, where she helped lead SCSU to records of 34-25 in 2005 and 33-24 in 2006, as the Huskies finished second and third in the North Central Conference during her stay.

A native of Missouri Valley, Iowa, Wood shined as a standout player at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 1999-2003. She helped the Mavericks to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2001 as a sophomore and finished her career as the all-time winningest pitcher in Maverick softball history with 106 wins and 530 career strikeouts.

In the 2001 national championship game, Wood tossed a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Lewis University. She also ranks second in career shutouts at UNO with 43, and earned numerous honors as a player at UNO, earning First Team All-NCC honors three times, while also collecting three All-NCC Academic Team awards. She earned NFCA All-Region First Team honors in 2002 and a Second Team All-Region selection in 2001. Wood also earned North Central Conference Freshman of the Year in 2000.

Wood also brings coaching experience at the high school level, serving as the pitching coach at Omaha Gross High School in the fall of 2003 and at state-qualifying Omaha Westside High School in 2004.

Wood earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education K-12 with an endorsement in coaching from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2004 and received a master's degree in sport management in 2006 from St. Cloud State University.

Wood, who tentatively begins her duties on Aug. 4,comes to Brookings with her husband Alex and son, Braxton.